Theatrical Regression Life

Chapter Fourteen - TRL

 The main character can do anything.

* * *

“This is my personal opinion, but it seems that mental strength is important in this world.”

At the man's words, Jung In-ho turned to look at him.

“… So, Mr. Ha Seongyoon?

“Call me whatever you like.”

“So what did you just say?”

Jung In-ho grabbed the branch he had just picked up and stared at Dr. Ha Seongyoon. The shop owner, Yoon Garam, who had joined from outside the company, also looked at Ha Seongyoon, puzzled.

Seeing the two of them like that, he touched his earlobe once and continued.

"It's what I felt after wandering around, but people don't die easily yet aren't very strong."

“Is that your philosophy as a doctor?”

“It is my subjective judgment rather than a philosophy. I'm not saying this to explain my way of thinking, but... people faint or die from things that don't really matter to other people."

Ha Seongyoon said while tidying up the newspaper he picked up earlier.

"My wound is a similar case."

He pointed to his side with his free hand.

Before leaving the flower shop with Manager Lee Jaehun, it was an unclean wound, as if it had been torn by teeth.

Even though it was bandaged, the blood that flowed out was staining one side of the shirt red.

“I applied pressure, but it was not a bandage used for hemostasis, so I couldn't help the blood flowing. That's why I thought it wouldn't be strange if I fainted in the middle....”

“…….”

“As you can see, I am fine enough to walk on my own two feet and pick up things from the floor.”

Having said that, Ha Seongyoon pursed his lips for a moment before continuing.

"I stand corrected, the pain is still there."

“Are you saying that the reason you’re holding on right now is because of your mental strength?”

“I think so.”

He folded the newspaper finely into a square.

With a rustling sound, the paper lost its volume, and it seemed darker than any color they knew, as if it ate shadows from the gray sky instead of light.

For some reason, Jung In-ho found the sound very disturbing.

"This world is a little strange. Even when I stand still, my head hurts or I feel dazed. I'm guessing that this world has some kind of effect on our psyche."

"That… is that so?"

Boss Yoon Garam pressed her head as if to check whether his words were correct, but Jung In-ho, who was also guessing the same as Dr. Ha Seongyoon, remained silent.

“However, when I was giving my mind strength like I do during a surgery, surprisingly, I was able to endure it even now. It's strange that he endures this much, even though he's never been hurt like this before."

"...So it's because of your mental strength."

Jung In-ho muttered that and fixed the branch he was holding in his hand.

It was a pretty plausible guess.

Chief Kang Mina and intern Roh Yun-seok, who were at least able to communicate at the company, were people with strong mentality in his evaluation.

So judging from the situation so far, Lee Jaehun probably knew this.

The fact that mental strength alone can maintain more strength than the current physical state.

‘… Is that why he acted so quickly?'

As he stared into the sky through his glasses, Dr. Ha Seongyoon added.

“Of course I am not sure. There is no evidence whatsoever.”

“…….”

"But given the circumstances, I thought I'd share my best guess."

he continued.

“So, Mr. Jung In-ho.”

“… yes."

“What kind of person was Lee Jaehun?”

“…….”

At those words, Jung In-ho closed his mouth involuntarily.

It was a rare reflexive reaction.

It was not something that was thought through, even for a brief moment, but a reaction that came out instinctively.

For Jung In-ho, who usually pays attention to even a single word, this was a very unusual situation.

As soon as he realized it, he felt embarrassed that his body reacted out of his control.

He didn't want to look weird by delaying his words any longer, so he opened his mouth in a slightly embarrassed mood.

His voice cracked as if he had hit puberty.

"...He was just, uh, that… kind of manager."

Strangeness is a weakness, and to reveal weakness is to lose the battle of information.

"The 'kind of' manager’?"

“…Hmm. He was not a man of good character. A common idiot."

Jung In-ho, who had been embarrassed before he knew it, shook his head.

With the help of manager Lee Jaehun, the two managed to get out of the flower shop safely, although it wasn't completely unsafe, but they were able to survive.

He probably had good feelings about him, so there was no point in saying anything unnecessary and looking like a jerk.

There was only so much you could gain from talking behind someone’s back

He came up with the most objective facts he could think of.

He said, “At the dinner party, he spoke with his own mouth that he was a crony. Judging by his spending, he seems to have a well-to-do family, and his colleagues didn't seem to like him very much.”

[Note: I could not find a word in English that perfectly described a person on the receiving end of nepotism. So I used crony which is pretty unknown. Search ‘cronyism’ for the definition. In Korean they use a word that literally translates to parachute, and is a more well-known word(which is used here).]

“So, kkondae, nepotism, golden spoon?”

[Note: I’ve given up, let’s pretend kkondae is an English word. It means an older condescending person. Think a boomer + an asshole, or your boss(jk).]

"...Not the whole story, but... to summarize, yes."

Jung In-ho felt annoyed with Dr. Ha Seongyoon, who was taking his words to the extreme.

He realized why Lee Jaehun sometimes had a strange look on his face when he talked to him. He must be feeling like this.

Whether or not he knew Jung In-ho's heart, he continued with his characteristic soft voice.

"It's different from what I've seen at the hospital and flower shop."

“… I think so too."

Boss Yoon Garam, who had been quietly listening to the two of them, opened her mouth.

"He seemed a little sensitive, but... he didn't seem like a jerk. I guess sometimes he says things that make it feel that way, but..."

“…….”

“Wouldn’t that have been just something you say when your nervous?”

Even as she said that, she seemed to question her own judgment.

"...If you're asking me, I don't know what to tell you."

And it was the same with Jung In-ho.

Head Manager Lee Jaehun was acting as if he had a dual personality.

He spoke with respect and then with disrespect. His voice dropped and then rose. His brow was almost always furrowed, but his body language would change slightly as his tone changed.

At least, that's what Jung In-ho observed.

Perhaps Boss Yoon Garam subconsciously felt this duality.

Since he hadn't figured it out yet, he came up with the most convincing theory he could, but even he didn't trust it. 

To that extent, Lee Jaehun's current state was strange to say the least, but....

'It's not a dual personality.'

Jung In-ho was sure of that. He continued.

“Personally, I think that the division of labour is very thorough.”

"...Division of labor?"

At his words, Boss Yoon gave him a confused look, and Dr. Ha Seongyoon slowly rolled his eyes.

From the expressions on their faces, he could guess what each of them wanted to say.

Jung In-ho opened his mouth as he picked up another thin twig.

“… Since my house is a bit far from the company, I haven't had a chance to meet the manager in private.”

To be honest, it was natural. No, that's the way it should be.

No office worker would want to meet privately with a boss who had been berating them all week.

Of course, he was willing to do whatever it took to get a promotion, but Lee Jaehun was the exception.

He was truly a person who sat in that position with only connections and financial resources, so he was mildly hated by those who were competent, and Lee Jaehun, the head manager, was not such a great person that Jung In-ho would cater to him even in private matters.

Of course, the difference in rank between Head manager and Deputy Manager is huge, but it was also true that he didn't want to go after Lee Jaehun's tail.

In addition, since several of his subordinates had taken him home on many occasions, like calling a taxi, Jung In-ho, who knew his address, was sure that the two of them would never meet in private.

It was because he had no intention of going near Manager Lee Jaehun's house unless there was work, and Manager Lee Jaehun also had no reason to stop by that old and ugly neighborhood.

So Jung In-ho's judgment was shattered when manager Lee Jaehun stopped by his neighborhood.

“The manager… He must have been in the area to buy something.”

Of course, he knew that what Manager Lee Jaehun bought was a bottle of alcohol, but he didn't bother to say it.

He hid what he bought at the time, and Jung In-ho didn’t know if it was real or acting, but at least there would be no need to go against his heart by talking about useless things.

“And in the middle of it, a kid ran into the road on the other side.”

“…….”

“The manager grabbed him from behind… .”

Bam.

“… Together, they fell.”

In his ears, he heard the sound of shards of blue glass that he shouldn't have heard.

This was definitely an hallucination after entering this world, but Jung In-ho couldn't tell if it was the sound of a wine bottle breaking or an expensive watch face breaking.

What was certain was that Lee Jaehun cared not for the pain it caused.

Even as blood oozes through the torn and cracked skin.

Jung In-ho pressed the bridge of his nose, feeling that his head was spinning for a moment.

“… Shortly thereafter, the car crashed into a power pole. The child almost got run over by the car, and the driver almost killed the child.”

"So I'd say he was saved by Lee Jaehun."

“Yes, that’s right. Even the driver's injuries were roughly treated... He saved more than one life.”

Jung In-ho remembered the woman who had rushed to the hysterical child.

If that precious child had died while running toward him, could the woman have been able to live on?

Jung In-ho, who had been fiddling with the twigs he had gathered before he knew it, opened his mouth.

"So, I don't know him personally. The manager I used to know at work wasn't exactly a good person...."

"Was he different from the outside?"

"Yes."

Exactly how different, though, has yet to be defined.

“Actually, it was because of the Head manager that I escaped the company.”

"Come to think of it, you're in good shape for getting out of that tall building."

“… You may have heard it because you were together in the situation earlier, but the Head manager was the one that too the lead and was hurt alone.”

Jung In-ho hesitated for a moment before continuing.

“I thought he only cared about himself.”

“…….”

"Apparently, it's not like that."

Rather, looking at what Lee Jaehun had done, it seemed as if he was literally living with his liver outside his stomach.

With multiple lifelines.

He suffered large piercing wounds on his shoulder and leg as he left the company, and a skin-melting burn on his ankle at the flower shop. The wounds he saw on the weekend wouldn't have healed in a day or two, so his arms and wrists were already scarred.

As Dr. Ha Seongyoon speculated, it was not a level that could be endured unless the individual's mental strength had a visible effect.

The only funny thing was the fact that there was not a single member of the company who felt guilty about Lee Jaehun's condition.

When he realized that it was Lee Jaehun himself at the end of it, he was stunned.

Did he want to split up? There's no way that would be the case, but maybe that's why he wanted to quietly get out of the current group.

Jung In-ho had no intention of looking past it.

"So, personally, I don't think he's a good person..."

Manager Lee Jaehun was not a good person.

From the moment they entered this world, they were insane. At the same time, from before that, and beyond that, Manager Lee Jaehun was in a state that could not be called normal.

If he had been sane, would he have been able to act like that? Could he have shown the duality in such a rational way as to make it feel like a double personality?

Could he be so good at pain that he can recognize it but he doesn't care for it?

According to Jung In-ho, manager Lee Jaehun was never normal, and he didn't even try to hide it, at least not from him.

He remembers making eye contact with Head Manager Lee Jaehun at the company right before he injured his shoulder.

And because he was insane, Manager Lee Jaehun, who pursues extreme efficiency, was the person their party needed more than anything else.

Jung In-ho continued.

"...But he was also willing to die for us."

“…….”

“I think he is a good enough person, personally.”

He's more rational than crazy.

‘… I still don't really get it... .’

Jung In-ho unknowingly raised his eyebrows.

What he did best was logical thinking, and he drew conclusions so far through his judgment, but nevertheless, the image of Lee Jaehun in the past did not all disappear.

To Jung In-ho, manager Lee Jaehun was just a bad-tempered boss, and of course they didn't get along.

Lee Jaehun always made me feel uncomfortable, and now it was too vivid to be an act.

Was it all an act? If anything, the fact that it was an act made it even more obvious that he was insane, but it also made him think that if he fell asleep for a while and woke up, he would see the same old Lee Jaehun in front of him.

That's how worthless he was to Jung In-ho.

'Actually, if there hadn't been an accident on the weekend, I would have continued to think that way.’

Jung In-ho swallowed a sigh as his head hurt.

It was strange to see Lee Jaehun, who he thought he would live and die for his own security, save a child with his own hands and make excuses that didn't work.

If you don't change your evaluation of the opponent after seeing it, there could be nothing more foolish than that.

Jung In-ho, who was pressing down on the bridge of his nose with a headache, suddenly thought of manager Lee Jaehun's hand.

“…….”

The hand that covered half the face of the child he had saved.

Before the child cries and before he sees anything. Lee Jaehun heard a loud noise, stared at the crowd, and covered the child's eyes with his bloody hands.

Manager Lee Jaeun was clearly wary of the onlookers' eyes.

Throughout the process, his eyes remained wide open, as if he was surprised by the unexpected, but when he covered the child's eyes, the atmosphere was even more intense.

It was an instinctive and nervous touch, like a blind man who had lived without a guardian and wandered through a path of fire with his fingertips instead of a cane.

Thinking that far, Jung In-ho looked back at Dr. Ha Seongyoon, and said.

“So that’s what I mean.”

“…….”

“Why are you so curious about the manager?”

At those words, Dr. Ha Seongyoon let out an embarrassing laugh.

“… was it that obvious?”

“Yes, a little.”

It was blatantly obvious, not 'a little'. How could he not notice when he was openly prying?

Jung In-ho continued with his usual sincere face, slightly frowning.

“…….”

"You said we should share our thoughts, right?"

If they really wanted to share information with each other, they should spit out what they found out.

It was a short time, but it didn't take long to get to know the other person.

Jung In-ho quickly realized that the most twisted people in the group were him, manager Lee Jaehun, and Dr. Ha Seongyoon in front of him.

Being the kind of person he was, Dr. Ha Seongyoon was probably thinking a lot, just as Jung In-ho was.

He wanted to hear about his opponent's judgment.

Dr. Ha Seongyoon, who rolled his gaze upward as if pondering for a moment, opened his mouth like a sigh.

“… From what I've seen, Manager Lee Jaehun... .”

At that moment,

“—Kyaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!”

A piercing woman's scream could be heard.

“…huh?"

In an instant, all his reason was paralyzed.

It was a sound coming from the direction they had come from, and there were two women in their group.

He couldn't be sure if the voice belonged to one of the woman from the group, but he didn't have the mental strength to make that judgement. Quickly make your choice..

A decision must be made.

“…….”

Boom!

Without returning to his senses, Jung In-ho struck something crawling under his feet.

He had to duck because the Monkey Spanner wasn't very long.

“…….”

… It was a vine similar to the one he saw at the flower shop.

“… ah."

"This… .”

To be precise, it was the same type that wrapped around the ankle of Lee Jaehun. The monster that had melted his skin.

“… There was a monster here too.”

In the end, all Jung In-ho said was this obvious fact.

Monsters exist everywhere in the world, as seen in companies and flower shops.

Jung In-ho, who confirmed it personally, felt the tips of his fingers getting cold while holding the blue tool.

A total of 4 people remained behind.

Roh Yun-seok, Kwon Yeon-hee, Kang Mina, and Lee Jaehun.

One of the two tools that can be used as a weapon, the Monkey Spanner, is currently held by Jung In-ho, and Lee Jaehun, who knows how to use the pipe best, is in poor condition.

Of course, based on what he’d seen so far of Lee Jaehun's unorthodox skills, it's unlikely he'll be easily defeated...

“…….”

What he heard now was a woman's scream that belonged to no one else.

Jung In-ho involuntarily gasped.

“… ah."

He had a hunch that someone had died.